Royal Genovian Bedroom
When I woke up this morning, I looked out into the garden and every cage had an iguana inside! Well, almost every one. It looks like Carlos has “evaded capture” (as Rocky likes to say, when he forces me to play Astronaut Versus the Velociraptor with him).
I can’t wait to tell Prince Khalil!!!!!
Not about Carlos. About the other iguanas.
Of course, Prince Khalil didn’t give me his cell number, so I have to wait until I get to school.
But this is very exciting!
Although I can’t say that I ever expected I’d be excited to tell a boy—much less a prince—about a bunch of captured lizards in my yard.
No one else has noticed the cages except Rocky and Grandmère, because everyone else in my family is still asleep. Even more of Mia’s friends (and Michael’s entire family) arrived yesterday. I could hear them laughing and singing all night long, practically, after I went to bed. When I peeked out my window, I saw my sister and Michael doing this:
Weddings sure do make people happy, considering all the trouble everyone has to go to in order to have one.
Only Grandmère and Rocky were sitting at the breakfast table when I came down. She lowered her newspaper and asked, “What in heaven’s name is going on out there in the garden, Olivia? It looks like something out of a science-fiction movie, and not one I’d care to see.”
“I’d care to see it,” Rocky said.
“Those are live traps for the iguanas, Grandmère,” I said. “Prince Khalil is a member of the Genovian Herpetology Rescue Society.”
I explained how Prince Khalil and his friends had set up the traps and planned to move the iguanas to the Genovian golf course.
“Pfuit,” she said. “That should certainly be a surprise to the golfers. Well, be sure to thank Prince Khalil for me. Or perhaps when I see him, I’ll give him a nice tip. Do you think ten euros would be enough? I suppose I should make it twenty. Or should I tip a euro per cage?”
“Oh no, Grandmère,” I said. “The service is free. Conserving reptiles and amphibians and educating the public about them is all the thanks the society needs.”
Grandmère raised her eyebrows. But since they weren’t painted on yet, you could barely tell.
“Not very enterprising of them … but then, I suppose the prince takes after his grandfather. Extremely intellectual, but terrible with money. That’s how they failed to hang on to their fortune, you know.”
“I think Prince Khalil sounds cool,” Rocky said. “I want to join the Genovian Herpetology Rescue Society.”
Grandmère turned back to her newspaper. “Why am I not surprised?”